Close Encounters
by TheHildur92
Summary: Sequel to my story Deception. Someone unexpected turns up at the Library after Reese and Finch have spent the night together. Some humour and revelations ensue.
1. Chapter 1

_ I was awakened early by a knock on the door and a bark from Bear. It took me a moment to collect my thoughts but another knock sufficed to drive me out of bed. I sat down at the edge of the bed, ran my hand through my shorn locks and fumbled for my glasses, normally on the nightstand. This time they weren´t there. I grabbed a pair of sweatpants, pulled them on and headed out into the hall barefoot and naked from the waist up. _

_ There was a third knock on the door and I finally found my glasses lying on the table next to my computer. I briefly wondered how they had ended up there, before another bark from Bear drove me to answer the door. I looked through the peephole, saw it was Carter and unlocked the door._

_ "Detective, what are you doing here so early?" I asked when the dark, beautiful detective was standing in front of me._

_ Instead of responding verbally, she merely inclined her head to her side. It was only then that I noted the young teenager with greasy brown hair and black Harry Potter glasses, staring at me like one would an alien. _

_ "He is butch for a weenie, isn´t he?" she asked Detective Carter, obviously appraising my muscles. I had begun to work out three months ago and the results had finally begun to show. _

_ I sent Carter a questioning glance but she paid no attention. "Are you going to let us in or make us stand in the hall all day, Finch?"_

_I ushered them inside, bolted the door behind them and sent an ecstactic Bear back to his bed with a grumpy look, seeing as he walked away in a huff when he wasn´t allowed to lick the visitors. _

_I then turned to my visitors. "What brings you here, Detective?"_

_Carter was the one to respond. "Your partner did. He was supposed to meet us this morning to arrange protection for Sarah here, but he didn´t show up and wasn´t answering his cell."_

"_That doesn´t sound like Reese."_

"_I know. That´s why I came here to see if you knew what had happened to him."_

_I looked into the face of the teenager. I didn´t recognise it. "She isn´t one of our Numbers."_

"_I know. I spoke to Reese yesterday about arranging protection for her."_

"_Is he supposed to protect me?" cut in Sarah. "You have got to be kidding me!"_

_A look from Carter abruptly shut her up._

"_Someone tried to abduct Sarah yesterday at gunpoint, Reese happened to be there to witness it and saved her. He brought her to the station for the night, but was going to take charge of her again this morning, seeing as we don´t know who is behind the attack, and it could be a cop."_

"_My dad is one," Sarah supplied helpfully._

"_Thank you, Sarah," responded Carter. "Anyway, Reese told me we could stash her in one of your safehouses until we figure out who is behind this."_

_I nodded in consent. "Of course, whatever you need."_

_My partner chose this moment to emerge from my bedroom with nothing but a towel around his waist, his hair still wet from the shower. "Babe," he called out. "Do you have any coffee?"_

_He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Carter and Sarah standing in the middle of the room, gazing at him appreciatively._

_The teenager quickly spoke up, looking from Reese to me. "Are you two, like, together?" _


	2. Chapter 2

_An hour later, I am sitting across the table from Detective Carter at a diner two blocks away from The Library. John took the asset to a safehouse for protection and to scout out the suitability of the place, it´s one of my own dilapidated buildings. _

_God, I´m even starting to sound like him!_

_Carter is staring at me with those piercing, dark eyes of hers, studying me like she would a cold-blooded killer. Frankly, it´s unnerving and putting me on edge. _

"_Is there a reason as to why you invited me here, Detective?" _

"_You can call me Joss," the dark woman replies quickly. "After all, we´re friends now."_

"_Are we?" I push my glasses further up on the bridge of my nose and regard her in a suspicious fashion. While Carter and I have worked together for quite some time now, in many instances very well, our relationship has always been strictly professional and until now there have been no signs of either one of us wanting to change it. _

"_At least we have a mutual friend." _

"_Is he the reason for this meeting?" The typically savvy Carter is unable to answer the question and looks out the window onto the busy street, watching the people go by. "I´ll take that as a yes." _

_The waitress comes, takes our order and quickly brings our two coffees. I take a drink from my cup grateful for the distraction. _

"_What are your intentions with John?" At Carter´s question, I nearly spit out the warm coffee in my mouth onto the table and the woman in front of me. I manage to swallow but am unable to come up with a coherent answer. The cop elaborates in order to give me time to gather my thoughts. "I mean, you had a fiancée once, according to John. Does that mean John is merely a distraction, a toy you will throw away when bored? Was this some kind of clever ruse in order for him not to leave you when he wants to?"_

_What Carter really wanted to ask was why I had chosen him when I could have had anyone I wanted? _

"_My intentions are completely dishonorable, Detective." My answer is deliever succinctly and without a hint of humour, making Carter´s chin almost fall to the floor. I wait a minute and then shrug non-chalantly. "What do you want me to say? I love him." _

"_Does he love you?" Carter´s question catches me by surprise since I had yet to consider the matter. _

"_I don´t know," I reply. _

"_How do you know you aren´t merely a replacement for Jessica? That John has mistaken someone who takes care of him and confused those feelings of gratefulness to be love?"_

"_I can´t know that." Truth is, I really couldn´t care less. _

"_He could be mistaking feelings of friendship for ones of love."_

"_You have done the same," I return smoothly, catching the slick Detective off-guard. "Frankly, Detective Carter, I don´t see how this interrogation serves a purpose beyond confusing me and costing me precious time. Time better spent somewhere else." _

_I throw money on the table and prepare to rise but Carter reaches over and catches my wrist, forcing me to stop._

"_You see, frankly I couldn´t give a rat´s ass as to what you and your friend are doing between the sheets, but you made it my business by involving me in yours to begin with." Her hold on my wrist increases and her voice become menacing. _

"_Frankly, I have yet to establish the connection."_

_Carter arises and drags me through the fire entrance to the alley behind the restaurant, used to store various items of food and the dumpster. "You see," she observes, revealing the truth to me at last, "it isn´t simply you and your partner anymore. It´s me, you, John and Fusco. When something goes down, will you have my back?" _

_I struggle to come up with an answer. _

"_This isn´t just my life. It´s my son´s. I cannot leave him without a mother. I need to know that when the going gets tough you´ll do what it takes to get the job done. Did you ever think your relationship with John might cause more problems then it solves? Can you think clearly with him in the line of fire? Could you make the choice between saving John and an innocent person?"_

"_I now begin to see the crux of the matter," I finally manage to respond. "You have learned to view human relationships as inherently weak, something to avoid. I did as well, which is the reason I gave up Grace to begin with. Yet with John, it´s different..."_

"_How?" Carter crossed her arms in front of her chest and waited curiously for my response._

_I leaned up against the wall of the building and looked up at the sky looming far above, blue as his eyes. "He is what makes me strong. Before John, I was driven to do this due to my own sense of guilt. Now, I do it because of him." _

"_As do I." Someone who knew Carter less would have thought that perhaps she meant John had dragged her into this against her will, but I knew she was talking of something very different. _

_I tore my eyes from the sky and focused on the dark woman in front of me. "How long have you loved him?" I asked quietly._

"_It seems like forever now." Carter did not seem taken aback by the fact I´d seen through her armour and exposed the living, breathing woman below. "He just makes it so damn easy to love him, doesn´t he?" _

"_It´s that whole tortured sexy thing he has going on. Gets you every time. Did I tell you Zoe Morgan made him an offer to be her cabana boy?"_

_Against her own will, Carter laughs until her sides hurt. Once she has recovered, she places a hand on my shoulder. _

"_If you really love him, all I can say is, I´m happy for you, Finch." _

"_You can call me Harry if you want." A bond of friendship is beginning to form as I look into her eyes. People who are as different as two people can be, but still share a passion for the same thing. _

_Carter squeezes my shoulder to emphasize her next words. "Don´t hurt him, Harry. He couldn´t take that." _

_I nod in assent. I know what tough ass Carter would do if I did something to hurt John. _

_My phone rings and I answer. It´s John and we discuss our plan to protect the asset as Carter and I move to her car in order to catch up with my partner at the safehouse. Once inside the car I put the phone on speaker so that Carter can hear what we are discussing, supplies and ammunition are among the items discussed. _

"_When will Carter arrive tonight?" asks my partner finally. _

"_Around ten," I return. _

"_I´m looking forward to seeing you, babe. I hope the boss will give me the night off." _

"_To do what exactly?"_

"_Fuck him senseless." _

"_Stop it, John!"_

_Carter begins to laugh and nearly crashes the car when my partner promply returns in his deep, sexy voice. "That wasn´t what you were saying last night."_


End file.
